X-Men (Arcade) Playthrough - NintendoComplete

A playthrough of Konami's 1992 license-based arcade beat 'em up game, X-Men.

Played through the two-player version as Storm. The machine is running on default settings.

Though Konami came to be known as a superstar developer through their work on the NES, they had also gained a great deal of recognition throughout the 1980s for their string of arcade hits, including Frogger, Gyruss, Gradius, Contra and Green Beret... the list goes on and on.

But despite their previous coin-op successes, it was the introduction of powerful 16-bit hardware with advanced A/V capabilities that really propelled the company into the arcade stratosphere. The use of such hardware suddenly allowed for vibrant graphics with huge characters, tons of color, more complex game logic, and of course, it paved the way for that orchestra hit-laden, signature Konami sound.

To take advantage of all of this power, Konami went after some of the biggest "kid-friendly" licenses of the time. The bright, flashy visuals of cartoons of the era were a perfect match for the hardware, and what better way to reach the bottom of kid's pockets than to give them games that looked just like their favorite comics and cartoons?

And the rest, as they say, is history. The Simpsons, Ninja Turtles, GI Joe, Wild West Cowboys of Moo Mesa, Bucky O'Hare, and even the French Asterix all got treated like royalty in the care Konami lavished upon their game adaptations, and gamers responded by making Konami very rich. These games were incredible showcases of cutting-edge technology wed with simple, great gameplay.

And X-Men is no different. Based on the 1989 pilot of the TV show, the game perfectly captured the essence and look of cartoon, and (entirely unlike LJN's abysmal 1989 NES game) made you feel like you were actually controlling one of your favorite superheroes. Explosions regular flood the screen as robotic body parts clatter along the ground - everything was at the mercy of a skilled-players command of their chosen hero. It was awesome.

The characters are huge, the backdrops are often dramatic, and the soundtrack is very capable of amping you up to face down an endless army as you chase after Magneto, master of magnet and of cringey Engrish. It was even more impressive to behold if you were lucky enough to play on one of the double-wide 6-player cabinets. Co-op play has rarely been as intense, chaotic, or as flat-out fun as it was when you were sandwiched between two complete strangers as you tried to save the world.

The formula still holds up today surprisingly well. It's an extremely simple game, but it flows well, it's just long enough to feel complete without ever becoming a slog, and it's forgiving enough that even a complete newbie can jump in and start cleaning house after just a minute or two. Perfect fare for pick-up-and-play.

After a rough patch in the 80s, the X-Men finally came into their own in video games with a string of hits, and the floodgates were opened by this fantastic title. Though Capcom took up mantle and ran with it (beginning with Children of the Atom in 1994), the X-Men owe quite a debt to Konami. This was the first X-Men game to live up to the potential of its license.

If you love beat 'em ups or arcade games and haven't played this one, do yourself a favor and go play it right now. You'll feel like a kid again for the short but sweet half-hour that it lasts.
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No cheats were used during the recording of this video.

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